Vuelta a Espana: The most important facts in brief
- Stage 12, Thursday, 29 August
- Ourense - Manzaneda, 137.4 kilometres, uphill finish
- Official start: 14:19
- Estimated arrival time: ~ 17:22 - 17:40
- TV broadcast: 14:30 - 18:00 Eurosport 1
- Live stream: Discovery Plus (subject to a charge)
- All stages of the Vuelta a Espana 2024 at a glance
Vuelta 2024: Stage 12 - route, elevation profile and map
We are still in Galicia, where the 12th stage starts in Ourense. The city of 100,000 inhabitants is around an hour's drive south-east of the previous day's start and finish in Padron. The route zigzags through hilly terrain inland to the Manzaneda mountain station at an altitude of 1488 metres. The finish is the only mountain classification of the day - it is a 1st category climb. After around 100 kilometres, there is also an intermediate sprint before the final climb 20 kilometres later.
The stage finale begins with the climb up to the Manzaneda mountain station after 122 kilometres. Over the following 15.4 kilometres, the average gradient is 4.7 percent. The last 2.4 kilometres are particularly tough, with gradients of up to 12 per cent. The stage ends at the Estacion de Montana de Manzaneda after covering 723 metres in altitude (3100 metres in total) on the final climb alone.
Sporting assessment of the 12th stage
On the 12th stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2024, both a victory for the classification riders and a breakaway success are possible. Although the terrain before the final climb is hilly, which is why a powerful breakaway group is likely to form, it should be possible for the peloton to keep the escape group under control. On the one hand, the classification riders should be strong enough on the final climb to catch the escapees and take the stage win. On the other hand, a breakaway victory remains a possibility in view of the difficult days ahead, as the classification riders could save their energy.
Although the final climb is relatively long and there are some difficult sections in between, it is particularly tough in the last 2.4 kilometres. This is where attacks by classification riders could be launched or a breakaway could pull away from the competition. Due to the upcoming stages and the moderate climbs, there shouldn't be too much of a gap in the classification.
Schedule, TV coverage & live stream of the 12th stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2024
The neutral start will take place at 14:10. Around ten minutes later, kilometre 0 should be reached. The finish is expected at 17:22 with an average speed of 45 km/h, 17:30 with 43 km/h and 17:40 with 41 km/h.
Eurosport will broadcast all stages of the Vuelta a Espana 2024. The 12th stage will be shown free-to-air on Eurosport 1 from 14:30.* Including post-event coverage, the broadcast will run until 18:00. A live stream on the internet is also available from the paid provider Discovery Plus.
* Transmission times are subject to change.
